//14 Jul 2011
Research done by Ghent University (Belgium) and the Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute in Belfast (Northern Ireland) on the presence of illegal antibiotic residues in giant freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) from Bangladesh found that semicarbazide was naturally present in the animals.
Semicarbazide (SEM) - the metabolic marker of the banned veterinary drug nitrofurazone - was found to be primarily present in the shell of all the animals and, further, appears as a natural component of all crustacean species tested, such as crabs, prawns and shrimp.
Ghent University and the Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute both conducted the research separately and independently in response to more than 50 Rapid Alerts issued by the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) in 2009. Consignments of shrimp from Bangladesh were found to have detection levels of SEM higher than the ones permitted (1 ppb).
Dr Christof van Poucke (Ghent) and Dr Glenn Kennedy (Belfast) determined that semicarbazide was present as a natural component in laboratory-grown prawns in the Ghent-based Laboratory of Aquaculture and to wild caught freshwater prawns from Bangladesh.
The metabolic route for SEM production in animals remains unknown; a fundamental role in protein synthesis is a possibility.
Applying legislation
As a result of the finding new legislation has been applied. And while improvements in laboratory analytical capacity continue a traceability scheme from hatchery to export has been set up.
For further ensuring food safety in Bangladesh in the long-term a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Union (EU)-supported aquaculture educational institute called the Aquaculture and Aquatic Food Safety Centre (AAFSC) has been established.,
Showing posts with label antibiotic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label antibiotic. Show all posts
01 June 2011
Ghent University: Web app to measure antibiotic usage in poultry farms
//01 Jun 2011
Belgium’s Ghent University launched a new web application allowing livestock producers and veterinarians to measure levels of antibiotic usage on the farms – and how to compare this to peers, Flemish agricultural website Vilt reports.
The new web application, called ABcheck, will contain a wide range of background information about antibiotic use and antibioitic resistance in animals.
Professor Jeroen Dewulf commented, “Using these data, it is possible to advise producers and veterinarians about a rational and reduced use of antibioitics.” Dewulf constructed the application in cooperation with researchers Davy Persoons and Merel Postma.
Resistance
At the moment, data around usage of antibiotics are only sparsely available. Nevertheless, the use of antibioitics is widely discussed as both in humans and in livestock, resistance to antibiotics is being observed to grow. Dewulf said, “This is mainly relevant for pathogens in the animals, but it may also apply to humans as resistant pathogens or their genes may be transferred from animals to humans.”
Especially in Europe, it is feared that decreasing amounts of antibiotics will be available that can adequately treat humans and animals. Hence, the reduction of the use of antibiotics and a prudent use of available products is considered extremely important in both animals as humans. The researchers commented, “With this tool, we’d like to provide the opportunity to everyone who is interested, to anonymously quantify, qualify and compare usage with other livestock production sites.”
The website fits into a project which is called ‘Reduction of antibiotic usage’. Experts analyse farm problems in pig and poultry facilities and can thus give very specific advices. Dewulf said, “On the one hand we’d like to step up any farm’s health, biosecurity and production levels, and on the other the usage of antibiotics will be less needed.”
Related websites:
Flemish Information Centre for Agri and Horticulture (Vilt) (in Dutch)
Ghent University
Belgium’s Ghent University launched a new web application allowing livestock producers and veterinarians to measure levels of antibiotic usage on the farms – and how to compare this to peers, Flemish agricultural website Vilt reports.
The new web application, called ABcheck, will contain a wide range of background information about antibiotic use and antibioitic resistance in animals.
Professor Jeroen Dewulf commented, “Using these data, it is possible to advise producers and veterinarians about a rational and reduced use of antibioitics.” Dewulf constructed the application in cooperation with researchers Davy Persoons and Merel Postma.
Resistance
At the moment, data around usage of antibiotics are only sparsely available. Nevertheless, the use of antibioitics is widely discussed as both in humans and in livestock, resistance to antibiotics is being observed to grow. Dewulf said, “This is mainly relevant for pathogens in the animals, but it may also apply to humans as resistant pathogens or their genes may be transferred from animals to humans.”
Especially in Europe, it is feared that decreasing amounts of antibiotics will be available that can adequately treat humans and animals. Hence, the reduction of the use of antibiotics and a prudent use of available products is considered extremely important in both animals as humans. The researchers commented, “With this tool, we’d like to provide the opportunity to everyone who is interested, to anonymously quantify, qualify and compare usage with other livestock production sites.”
The website fits into a project which is called ‘Reduction of antibiotic usage’. Experts analyse farm problems in pig and poultry facilities and can thus give very specific advices. Dewulf said, “On the one hand we’d like to step up any farm’s health, biosecurity and production levels, and on the other the usage of antibiotics will be less needed.”
Related websites:
Flemish Information Centre for Agri and Horticulture (Vilt) (in Dutch)
Ghent University
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